[gr8fuldaniel]

[SIZE=2]Accident or Test?[/SIZE]

Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea Explosion Followed by Mushroom Cloud Reported in North Korea on Key Communist Regime Date ABC News The Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea Sept. 12, 2004 — A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea, sending a huge column of smoke into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday. The South Korean government said it was trying to confirm the report of an explosion at 11 a.m. on Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China.The Yonhap news agency carried conflicting reports from unidentified sources, with one in Washington saying the incident could be related to a natural disaster such as a forest fire. It also cited a diplomatic source in Seoul as raising the possibility of an accident or a nuclear test. Although North Korea is believed to be developing nuclear weapons, international experts would likely have been able to detect the test if one had occurred several days ago. "We understand that a mushroom-shaped cloud about 3.5- to 4-kilometer (2.2 miles to 2.5 miles) in diameter was monitored during the explosion," the source in Seoul told Yonhap. Yonhap described the source as "reliable." Thursday was the anniversary of North Korea's founding on Sept. 9, 1948. Leader Kim Jong Il uses the occasion to stage performances and other events to bolster loyalty among the impoverished North Korean population. Experts have speculated that North Korea might use a major anniversary to conduct a nuclear-related test, but one analyst said an open test, as opposed to one below ground, would be hard in such a small country. "It's difficult to say, but it won't be easy for North Korea to conduct a nuclear test without resulting in massive losses of its own people," said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert in Seoul. "I think there is a more possibility that it is a simple accident, rather than a deliberate nuclear test."

N Korea admits 'serious' accident BBC North Korea has broken its silence to confirm what it called a "very serious" train disaster at Ryongchon station near the Chinese border on Thursday. It is feared hundreds were killed and thousands hurt, but the state news agency gave no figures. Reporting from the scene, China's state news agency said 154 people, including many children, were known to have died. Aid workers and diplomats have gone to Ryongchon after a rare call for help from the secretive state.